Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as the 13th Vice-President of India

Venkaiah Naidu took oath as the 13th Vice-President of India on 11 Aug under the administration of President Ram Nath Kovind at a brief ceremony in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan. While he is the 15th Vice President, he is the 13th person to hold the constitutional post. His predecessor Hamid Ansari and the first Vice President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had held the post for two consecutive terms.

Naidu hailing from Andhra Pradesh was elected the Vice-president on Aug 5. He got 516 votes out of the total 771 votes cast defeating former governor of West Bengal and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Naidu will also take over as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from the outgoing vice-president Hamid Ansari. The vice-president is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament.

Following the oath taking ceremony of Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the gathering of political leaders collected to attend the ceremony. He said that Naidu is the first vice-president to be born in an independent India. Further praising the accomplishments of Naidu, Modi said that during his tenure as the Urban development minister he was more aware and gave more inputs for the rural development. Coming from a humble agricultural family in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, Naidu has given detailed analysis On the issues of farming, agriculture and rural development, he added.

Modi also told that since Naidu has also been a member of the parliament it may be difficult for few members to see Naidu heading the Rajya Sabha session.

Apart from Modi leaders of the opposition party also congratulated the vice-president. “You are not new to this House. You have been here as an MP and a minister too. At those times, we have had our jokes and disagreements. You are one of the few people who rose from the bottom in his party. There are many people who rise from weak sections of the society. This is the beauty of our democracy,” Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Rajya Sabha.

Further talking about the responsibilities as the chairman of the upper house Azad said that the opinions of a leader often changes when he come into ministry, but he should never forget that now he has to think of the nation also apart from the party. “There is another post, which you have been appointed to now. Behind you, there are the (mark of) weighing scales,” he said Azad also said that all the members of RS are given the freedom to put forth their views. “The responsibility of this House is double. We are responsible to the people and to the state legislatures,” he added.

Another MP Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav said that only people from political backgrounds should be appointed to such posts as it is very difficult for a non-political leader to understand and handle the proceedings of the house. He further added that the smooth functioning of the house not just depends on the chairman but also the MPs are responsible for it, the members creating a ruckus should also think about what they are making noise about.